arXiv subjects

Sören Petrat

Publications and source records attributed to Sören Petrat.

27 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2016

Free time evolution of a tracer particle coupled to a Fermi gas in the high-density limit

The dynamics of a particle coupled to a dense and homogeneous ideal Fermi gas in two spatial dimensions is studied. We analyze the model for coupling parameter g=1 (i.e., not in the weak coupling regime), and prove closeness of the time evolution to an effective dynamics for large densities of the gas and for long time scales of the order of some power of the density. The effective dynamics is generated by the free Hamiltonian with a large but constant energy shift which is given at leading order by the spatially homogeneous mean field potential of the gas particles. Here, the mean field approximation turns out to be accurate although the fluctuations of the potential around its mean value can be arbitrarily large. Our result is in contrast to a dense bosonic gas in which the free motion of a tracer particle would be disturbed already on a very short time scale. The proof is based on the use of strong phase cancellations in the deviations of the microscopic dynamics from the mean field time evolution.

math-ph↗

arXiv2016

Bogoliubov corrections and trace norm convergence for the Hartree dynamics

We consider the dynamics of a large number N of nonrelativistic bosons in the mean field limit for a class of interaction potentials that includes Coulomb interaction. In order to describe the fluctuations around the mean field Hartree state, we introduce an auxiliary Hamiltonian on the N-particle space that is very similar to the one obtained from Bogoliubov theory. We show convergence of the auxiliary time evolution to the fully interacting dynamics in the norm of the N-particle space. This result allows us to prove several other results: convergence of reduced density matrices in trace norm with optimal rate, convergence in energy trace norm, and convergence to a time evolution obtained from the Bogoliubov Hamiltonian on Fock space with expected optimal rate. We thus extend and quantify several previous results, e.g., by providing the physically important convergence rates, including time-dependent external fields and singular interactions, and allowing for general initial states, e.g., those that are expected to be ground states of interacting systems.

math-ph↗

arXiv2016

A New Method and a New Scaling For Deriving Fermionic Mean-field Dynamics

We introduce a new method for deriving the time-dependent Hartree or Hartree-Fock equations as an effective mean-field dynamics from the microscopic Schroedinger equation for fermionic many-particle systems in quantum mechanics. The method is an adaption of the method used in [Pickl, Lett. Math. Phys., 97(2):151-164, 2011] for bosonic systems to fermionic systems. It is based on a Gronwall type estimate for a suitable measure of distance between the microscopic solution and an antisymmetrized product state. We use this method to treat a new mean-field limit for fermions with long-range interactions in a large volume. Some of our results hold for singular attractive or repulsive interactions. We can also treat Coulomb interaction assuming either a mild singularity cutoff or certain regularity conditions on the solutions to the Hartree(-Fock) equations. In the considered limit, the kinetic and interaction energy are of the same order, while the average force is subleading. For some interactions, we prove that the Hartree(-Fock) dynamics is a more accurate approximation than a simpler dynamics that one would expect from the subleading force. With our method we also treat the mean-field limit coupled to a semiclassical limit, which was discussed in the literature before, and we recover some of the previous results. All results hold for initial data close (but not necessarily equal) to antisymmetrized product states and we always provide explicit rates of convergence.

math-ph↗

arXiv2015

Kinetic Energy Estimates for the Accuracy of the Time-Dependent Hartree-Fock Approximation with Coulomb Interaction

We study the time evolution of a system of $N$ spinless fermions in $\mathbb{R}^3$ which interact through a pair potential, e.g., the Coulomb potential. We compare the dynamics given by the solution to Schr{ö}dinger's equation with the time-dependent Hartree-Fock approximation, and we give an estimate for the accuracy of this approximation in terms of the kinetic energy of the system. This leads, in turn, to bounds in terms of the initial total energy of the system.

math-ph↗

arXiv2014

Derivation of Mean-field Dynamics for Fermions

In this work, we derive the time-dependent Hartree(-Fock) equations as an effective dynamics for fermionic many-particle systems. Our main results are the first for a quantum mechanical mean-field dynamics for fermions; in previous works, the mean-field limit is usually either coupled to a semiclassical limit, or the interaction is scaled down so much, that the system behaves freely for large particle number $N$. We consider the fermionic Hartree equations (i.e., the Hartree-Fock equations without exchange term) in this work, since the exchange term is subleading in our setting. The main result is that the fermionic Hartree dynamics approximates the Schrödinger dynamics well for large $N$. We give explicit values for the rates of convergence. We prove two types of results. The first type is very general and concerns arbitrary free Hamiltonians (e.g., relativistic, non-relativistic, with external fields) and arbitrary interactions. The theorems give explicit conditions on the solutions to the fermonic Hartree equations under which a derivation of the mean-field dynamics succeeds. The second type of results scrutinizes situations where the conditions are fulfilled. These results are about non-relativistic free Hamiltonians with external fields, systems with total kinetic energy bounded by $const \cdot N$ and with long-range interactions of the form $|x|^{-s}$, with $0 < s < \frac{6}{5}$ (sometimes, for technical reasons, with a weaker or cut off singularity). We prove our main results by using a new method for deriving mean-field dynamics developed by Pickl in [Lett. Math. Phys., 97(2):151-164, 2011]. This method has been applied successfully in quantum mechanics for deriving the bosonic Hartree and Gross-Pitaevskii equations. Its application to fermions in this work is new. Finally, we show how also the recently treated semiclassical mean-field limits can be derived with this method.

math-ph↗

arXiv2014

Multi-Time Wave Functions for Quantum Field Theory

Multi-time wave functions such as $ϕ(t_1,x_1,\ldots,t_N,x_N)$ have one time variable $t_j$ for each particle. This type of wave function arises as a relativistic generalization of the wave function $ψ(t,x_1,\ldots,x_N)$ of non-relativistic quantum mechanics. We show here how a quantum field theory can be formulated in terms of multi-time wave functions. We mainly consider a particular quantum field theory that features particle creation and annihilation. Starting from the particle-position representation of state vectors in Fock space, we introduce multi-time wave functions with a variable number of time variables, set up multi-time evolution equations, and show that they are consistent. Moreover, we discuss the relation of the multi-time wave function to two other representations, the Tomonaga-Schwinger representation and the Heisenberg picture in terms of operator-valued fields on space-time. In a certain sense and under natural assumptions, we find that all three representations are equivalent; yet, we point out that the multi-time formulation has several technical and conceptual advantages.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2014

Multi-Time Schrödinger Equations Cannot Contain Interaction Potentials

Multi-time wave functions are wave functions that have a time variable for every particle, such as $ϕ(t_1,x_1,\ldots,t_N,x_N)$. They arise as a relativistic analog of the wave functions of quantum mechanics but can be applied also in quantum field theory. The evolution of a wave function with N time variables is governed by N Schrödinger equations, one for each time variable. These Schrödinger equations can be inconsistent with each other, i.e., they can fail to possess a joint solution for every initial condition; in fact, the N Hamiltonians need to satisfy a certain commutator condition in order to be consistent. While this condition is automatically satisfied for non-interacting particles, it is a challenge to set up consistent multi-time equations with interaction. We prove for a wide class of multi-time Schrödinger equations that the presence of interaction potentials (given by multiplication operators) leads to inconsistency. We conclude that interaction has to be implemented instead by creation and annihilation of particles, which, in fact, can be done consistently, as we show elsewhere [17]. We also prove the following result: When a cut-off length $δ>0$ is introduced (in the sense that the multi-time wave function is defined only on a certain set of spacelike configurations, thereby breaking Lorentz invariance), then the multi-time Schrödinger equations with interaction potentials of range $δ$ are consistent; however, in the desired limit $δ\to 0$ of removing the cut-off, the resulting multi-time equations are interaction-free, which supports the conclusion expressed in the title.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2014

Multi-Time Formulation of Pair Creation

In a recent work [8], we have described a formulation of a model quantum field theory in terms of a multi-time wave function and proposed a suitable system of multi-time Schroedinger equations governing the evolution of that wave function. Here, we provide further evidence that multi-time wave functions provide a viable formulation of relevant quantum field theories by describing a multi-time formulation, analogous to the one in [8], of another model quantum field theory. This model involves three species of particles, say x-particles, anti-x-particles, and y-particles, and postulates that a y-particle can decay into a pair consisting of an x and an anti-x particle, and that an x-anti-x pair, when they meet, annihilate each other creating a y-particle. (Alternatively, the model can also be interpreted as representing beta decay.) The wave function is a multi-time version of a time-dependent state vector in Fock space (or rather, the appropriate product of Fock spaces) in the particle-position representation. We write down multi-time Schroedinger equations and verify that they are consistent, provided that an even number of the three particle species involved are fermionic.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2014

Multi-Time Equations, Classical and Quantum

Multi-time equations are evolution equations involving several time variables, one for each particle. Such equations have been considered for the purpose of making theories manifestly Lorentz invariant. We compare their status and significance in classical and quantum physics.

quant-ph↗